1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to match holders. In particular, it relates to a match holder that holds a match, permitting lighting of a fire in an inaccessible place and allows the user to manually eject the match from the match holder without touching the match.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Combustion equipment, such as fireplaces, wood burning stoves and furnaces, oil stoves, and water heaters, are typically lit by using a match. The location of the combustion area is often times hard to reach. For example, a pilot light in a gas water heater is generally accessible only through a small opening and positioned a sufficient distance from the opening so that lighting the pilot light is difficult. A similar situation often time exists in lighting pilot lights in gas furnaces. Oil burning stoves also have a combustion chamber that is difficult to reach. In addition, many types of oil stoves have a combustion chamber that is lit from the top which presents a slight danger of burning the hand that is holding the match. Wood burning stoves and furnaces and fireplaces have more accessible combustion chambers, however, the combustion chambers are typically very dirty from soot. In trying to light a fire with a standard match in such combustion chambers, the lighter's hands often times become dirty from the soot.
There are commercially-available long stick matches which permit the user to reach a relatively inaccessible combustion chamber or pilot light. However, these matches are typically four to five times as expensive as common wooden stick matches.
Several types of match holdes are described in several U.S. patents. In the Wilder U.S. Pat. No. 407,883, a match holder is shown made of a heavy wire coiled to form a rigid tapered socket. The match is wedged into the tapered end of the socket. However, the coiled wire socket of the Wilder Patent requires that the user grasp the portion of the match that has not been burned to avoid the sooty burned portion and manually remove the match by twisting the match out of the socket. Furthermore, if the match has been substantially burned, the user does not have an end of the match to grasp to remove the unburned portion of the match from the socket.
The Stegner U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,204 also shows a match holder having a coiled wire holder. To eject the match from the coiled holder in the Stegner Patent, another match or object is pushed into an opening at the rear of the coiled wire holder to push the burned match out of the holder.
The Williams U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,928 and the Porter U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,455 show match holders that hold a match between resilient wire clamps. However, these types of match holders are relatively expensive to manufacture.
The Gibson et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,051 describes a match holder that is made of a single sheet of spring steel which has been curved to a split tubular shape. The spring steel holder is attached to an extension rod so that the lighted match can be positioned in an accessible location. The match is wedged in the wider end of the holder. However, no provision is made to easily eject the match from the holder.